Icy Heart :IceCastleShipping:
by 8Peridot8
Summary: Almia is at peace after its crisis with Team Dim Sun, and Kate finds herself daydreaming about a certain blue-haired boy. But, there are two problems with that: he disappeared after the Dim Sun crisis, and he WAS a Dim Sun! .:IceCastleShipping:.


**Icy Heart**

She could never forget the first day she met him. Opening the huge double doors in Almia Castle with her freezing, numb fingers to reveal a large room, halved by a wall of light guarded by two Riolu statues, which were being scrutinized by a boy, maybe a year or two older than her, with blue hair and a long blue-and-white coat. The boy had been devastatingly handsome, with a calm, cool attitude. She liked to think how incredibly fitting his name was for his personality, yet how it seemed to be quite the opposite of how you might describe his appearance.

She'd been rather disappointed to discover that he was a member of Team Dim Sun. Well, very disappointed, actually. How could she ever have thought he was attractive? He was evil! But, she couldn't help but feel as though, perhaps, somewhere deep in his cold heart, there was some warmth and goodness.

She hadn't thought about it much then – she'd been too busy trying to save the world, after all – but now, with Team Dim Sun defeated and disbanded, now that Almia was once again at peace, she was able to let her mind wander back to that boy with the frosty blue eyes. That boy who she should have never cared about, but she did nonetheless. That boy whose heart she felt sure had a sliver of goodness in it. She was determined to make that goodness flourish.

And that's what prompted her to fly out to find him that day.

**~~ ' ~~**

She pushed the front doors to Almia Castle open with her glove-covered hands. She'd remembered to dress warmly this time, thank Arceus. The castle wasn't much different from the last time she'd been there – when she'd first met him – abandoned, icy-cold, and teeming with Pokémon.

Trying to remember her way through the maze of hallways, she eventually found herself in front of a pair of very familiar blue doors. Taking a deep breath, she heaved the doors open, and...

"What the—Kate!"

She gasped, then sneezed, and when she looked up again, he was right there in front of her, staring at her in disbelief.

"Ice," she grinned. "I- I thought I'd find you here."

"Why are you here? Why were you looking for me?" he asked, his words laced with suspicion.

"I..." her gaze dropped to the ground, and at that moment, she was endlessly grateful for the slight frost bite on her cheeks, as it hid the deepening blush on them. "I missed you."

There was a moment of total silence between them. Finally, he nearly whispered, "Alright. Come sit by the fire. You'll catch your death in this cold."

**~~ ' ~~**

"And then I said to Lavana, 'A little hot-tempered, aren't we? Arceus, Lavana, you're going to melt me into a puddle with that temper of yours!'"

She laughed. Hard. She hadn't laughed like that in quite a while. It felt great.

She honestly hadn't expected that within five minutes of sitting by his fire, she'd be sipping the best hot chocolate she'd ever tasted and laughing with him at the countless stories they both had of Team Dim Sun and the Rangers.

"So, Kate-noob," he began, still chuckling, "how did you know to find me here? Are you, perhaps, psychic?"

She giggled. "Oh, no, no! I'm no good at psychic stuff! I chose to look here because... Well, I'm not sure if you remember, but this room is the first place I met you."

"I remember, alright," he murmured as he gazed into the fire. "You know, I don't know if it's the fact that I haven't seen a single person in over 3 months, or what, but you're... I don't know, nicer than I remembered, I guess. Now that we're not really enemies anymore, you're much easier to get along with," he grinned.

At first, she only smiled and nodded, feeling her cheeks heat up. Thankfully, they were still rosy from the cold. But then suddenly, she felt something bubble up inside her, and before she knew it, she was sitting beside him with her arms thrown around him.

"Ice...," she breathed. She felt her heart go into over-drive when he wrapped his arms around her, too. She cuddled up closer to him.

And for a while, they just sat there, soaking up something they'd both dreamed of for a long time – since the day they'd met: each other.

Then, reluctantly, she spoke. "Ice, are you- I mean, you don't still... believe in Team Dim Sun's values, do you?"

He didn't respond at first. Finally, he sighed.

"You know, the whole time I was a member of Team Dim Sun, I never once thought what we were doing was right. I was fully aware of how wrong it was," she opened her mouth to interrupt, but he pressed a finger to her lips, causing her breath to catch in her throat, and the blood to rush to her cheeks. "Shh, let me finish, Kate-noob. See, Blake promised me power if I joined Team Dim Sun. And power I got. Easily too much for my own good. It got to the point where I didn't care who or what I hurt, as long as I got more power."

The hints of sadness that had played in his eyes while he'd told his story were instantly replaced with a mischievous twinkle. "Then I met you. I knew you were special right away. I mean, honestly, you pretty much radiate determination and selflessness," he glanced down at her face to see her staring wide-eyed at him. He swallowed, then chuckled. " Not to mention the way you always effortlessly defeated me. I think you opened up something inside me that had been frozen shut for a long time. I started second-guessing myself, I became more prone to hasty actions, and ultimately, I was brought back down to Earth. As I was leaving Altru Tower, I saw it go into Level Dark, and I thought, 'that's it, this crap isn't worth it, I'm done.' So I ended up at that campsite in Hia Valley – Shiver Camp, right? – asking for a few crates of food and supplies. They were happy to oblige, and even helped me get my stuff over here. Anyway, after that, I spent my time in complete isolation, just thinking. You know what, I'll admit it. That power wasn't worth all the damage it caused. I mean, look where it left me," he gestured at the snowy room. "And... I know this will never be enough, but... I want to apologize for all the trouble I caused you.

He tucked a finger under her chin, lifting her face up to meet his. "I'm so sorry, Kate," he whispered as he gently pressed his lips against hers.

She couldn't breathe, she couldn't think, and her whole body felt numb. His lips were surprisingly warm and soft, and they tasted like hot chocolate and peppermint.

When they broke apart, they simply gazed into each other's eyes.

Mission clear, she thought as she rested her head on his shoulder. Really, she'd already cleared this mission quite a while ago, though, just by existing and being herself. She'd already melted his icy heart. Now she was filling it with all the warmth it needed, and she'd gladly remain a source of warmth for his heart for a long time to come.

"I... I love you, Ice," she murmured.

"I love you, too, Kate-noob."

**'~ FIN ~'**


End file.
